Marlins could be short-handed for Braves series in Miami.

Tonight is the beginning of the Atlanta Braves and Florida Marlins three game series. It has been an eventful week for both teams. The Braves will be skipping Derek Lowe and starting recently called up Kenshin Kawakami. This will be Kawakami’s first start since July, after losing his job to Kris Medlen and Mike Minor.

Meanwhile, Anibal Sanchez from the Marlins has to undergo season-ending knee surgery. His replacement is Andrew Miller and will be starting opposing Kawakami tonight.

To further complicate things for the Marlins, there were suspensions given out for the bench clearing brawl between the Washington Nationals and the Marlins from Wednesday night’s game.  Their manager Edwin Rodriguez has been suspended 1 game.  Starting first baseman, Gaby Sanchez, has been suspended 3 games and starting pitchers Alex Sanabia and Christ Volstad were suspended 5 and 6 games respectively.

Gaby Sanchez is expected to appeal his supsension.  Sanabia is scheduled to start Sunday’s game opposite Mike Minor for the Braves.

Braves need to create success on the road.

The Braves are leaving the friendly confines of Turner Field where they have a record of 49-19, which is best in the majors this season. They are traveling south to face the Florida Marlins for a three game series beginning tonight. The Braves record away from Turner Field is a subpar 29-37.

The Braves cannot expect to receive any more gifts from the Philadelphia Phillies from here on out. The last time the Phillies were at home, they were swept by the Houston Astros. This was at the same time that the Braves were getting swept by the Colorado Rockies.

The Braves need to take advantage of the road games to continue their push at securing the NL Eastern Division crown.

The Braves are hitting .273 at home and scoring more than 5 runs per game. Their team ERA at home is at 3.02.

Looking at their road stats and it is easy to see why they have not realized as much success. They have to improve upon their .250 batting average on the road. They are actually only 4th in the National League in runs scored on the road. They are averaging 4.5 runs per game. Their ERA is 4.06 on the road.

They are over a full run better in team ERA at home than on the road and more than a half a run in runs scored at home vs the road. They are fortunate that they are only 8 games under .500 on the road considering these stats.

It is no secret that they need to achieve some success on the road. At this point they are a half game back from Cincinnati for the best record in the National League. If they win home-field advantage, then they could essentially ride their home games to the World Series and to a championship, in theory.

Regardless, the best way to win the coveted championship is to not demand perfection at home and to fight their ways to stealing games on the road.

The pitchers are responsible and the hitters are equally responsible. They have to be better for the rest of the season for sure.

Troy Glaus activated from DL, now a pinch-hitter

Troy Glaus has had an odd year for the Braves. He struggled in April.  He carried the Braves’ offense in May and the first part of June.  The 2nd half of June, July and August, he was terrible at the plate and at first base. The Braves traded for Derrek Lee and put him on the DL to rest his sore knees and to give him an opportunity to play 3rd base and get acclimated to his career position.

He made two errors in his first game, then did well at AAA.  He hit well, too.  Both were encouraging signs to the Braves.

The problem for Glaus is that Martin Prado and Omar Infante took his hopeful job.  Infante has been the Braves’ best hitter for the last month and Prado has been the Braves’ best hitter for the entire season. They deserve to be in the lineup.

Luckily for Glaus, he plays for an awesome manager that looks out for his players. Judging from past players, Bobby will give Glaus enough opportunities to prove to himself and other teams that he can rebound so that Troy can sign another contract moving forward after 2010.

For now Troy has to accept his role and cheer for his teammates to hold off the Phillies and make it into the playoffs for the first time since 2005. He has handled everything to this point with class and has shown he is a true professional.

Atlanta Braves’ top 3 hitters are raking.

The Atlanta Braves have had a luxury that no other team in the majors has had: the ability to replace an injured starter with an All Star. This is what happened when Martin Prado broke his pinky against the Cincinnati Reds on July 31. Bobby Cox was able to insert Omar Infante into the leadoff spot that was vacated by Prado.

Many people were afraid that Infante’s production would decrease if he had to play every day. His role was: super utility man, which he performed well and is why Charlie Manuel decided to give him an All Star bid.

So, how did he respond by being moved into the regular lineup: he hit .344 in August with a .383 OBP and a .528 slugging percentage for a .911 OPS. He scored 24 runs, drove in 11, hit 5 home runs, 2 triples and 4 doubles.

What people are not speaking a lot about is the fact that Joey Votto and Albert Pujols’ chase for the triple crown will almost certainly be spoiled by Omar Infante. If he continues to play every game, without injury or major slump, he will achieve enough at-bats to win the batting title. Even if he falls short, he can still win the batting title with an adjustment made to his at bats. He is on pace for 475 at bats and a .346 batting average, then his average would be altered with an 0-25 streak to move his average down to .328. Joey Votto is currently hitting .325.

Another move that Bobby Cox that has paid off well was his move of Jason Heyward from lower in the order to #2 in their batting order. He has hit .293 with a OBP of .391 and a slugging percentage of .463. He has hit 7 home runs, 3 triples and 21 doubles while driving in 32 runs and scoring 50 from the number 2 hole.

When Martin Prado returned to the Braves lineup on August 17, he was put in the #3 hole in the Braves lineup and moved to third base to replace the injured Chipper Jones. He hit .322 with a .362 OBP and .521 slugging % as a leadoff hitter with 11 home runs, 31 rbis and 54 runs.

What this has meant for the Braves is a top of the order with three guys who are hitting at an unbelievable pace.

Over the last 11 games, Infante has hit .354 with a .404 OBP and .563 slugging % while scoring 13 runs, hitting 3 HR and driving in 8 runs.

Heyward has hit .533 with a .596 OBP and .933 slugging percentage while hitting 4 HR, scoring 16 runs and driving in 12 runs.

Since taking over the #3 spot in the order, he has hit .328 with a .358 OBP and .516 slugging % while driving in 17 runs and scoring 14 runs.

The Braves have needed a spark to a sometimes stagnant offense. This combination of hitters atop the Braves lineup has provided a spark.

Lowe to skip start Friday, Kawakami to fill in.

Derek Lowe will miss the first start of his career on Friday as the Braves take on the Florida Marlins in Miami. Lowe admitted to pitching with pain in his right elbow for the last 6 weeks. He could not hide the discomfort that he felt on Sunday as he was seen squeezing and shaking his hand on a number of occasions.  The Marlins roughed him up for 5 runs in only 3 innings of work.

As reported by Mark Bowman from mlb.com:

“I didn’t think I was going to miss a start,” Lowe said. “So I can’t say it’s going to feel great better in three days, a week or whenever. It’s unfortunate. It’s your turn to pitch and I’ve never missed [a start]. But you’ve got to be honest with yourself and true to your team. What I did last Sunday was pointless. Obviously, we came back. But if you’re going to pitch like that, it’s not even worth it. So it’s best for everyone right now just to take a break.”

I applaud Derek Lowe for giving up his manly persona to think about the team. His stubbornness and macho ego is the last thing that the Braves need trying to hold on to the NL East and make it to the playoffs for the first time since 2005.

After Kenshin Kawakami lost his starting job to Kris Medlen, he was used only once before he was sent down to AAA to stretch back out as a starter. While he was in AAA, Mike Minor came up and took his job. Lowe’s injury will allow him to have one more shot at pitching in the starting rotation for the Braves.

For the year, he is 1-9 with a 4.75 ERA. His record at Gwinnett was 0-1 with a 4.29 ERA.

One thing is certain, the Braves need better production out of Kawakami and Lowe. Especially since they make up approximately 27% of the Braves 2010 payroll.

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